The Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Before lighting it up yesterday, I believe this cigar had been resting in my humidor since the summer of 2010, when it was introduced. Corcovado (4.25 x 60) is a stout cigar with a fair burn line and an effortless draw. Like the other Brazilia vitolas, this dark, Brazilian-wrapped smoke packs a full-bodied punch with plenty of peppery spice and notes of bitter dark chocolate and roasted nut. Two-and-a-half years of rest mellowed it some and rounded off the edges, making for a very enjoyable experience.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Change seems to be the hallmark of Gurkha these days, whether it’s producing budget-priced smokes under the East India Trading Co. subsidiary or increasing presence at tobacco shops. An outfit once frequently derided for overemphasizing packaging and glitz is putting some interesting cigars on the shelf. This specimen, called the Cellar Reserve Prisoner, is certainly one of those. It sports a criollo wrapper along with filler Gurkha says is aged for 15 years. I found it to be a medium-strength, flavorful, and complex smoke. Well worth trying.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

This Lancero edition of the the Serie D Maduro was created by Eddie Ortega just for the DC Cigar Tweetup. (Each attendee received a bundle of ten with their ticket.) Only the size is new; the blend is the same as the regular Serie D Maduro sizes: Mexican wrapper, Nicaraguan binder and filler. The cigar has sweet earth, coffee, and cocoa all particularly focused by the Lancero’s narrow size. It’s reminiscent of the Padrón 1926 Maduro, including excellent construction, but with a little more grittiness.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

I stumbled across this limited, sun-grown-wrapped release at a shop I visit infrequently. Though priced about 50% above list, I couldn’t resist what was likely to be my only chance to smoke one. From first impression to final puff, there’s no doubt this cigar (5.75 x 48) is a Fuente. Rich, smooth, medium in strength, beautiful wrapper, superb construction, and the overall impression of fine, aged tobacco. On the other hand, it didn’t strike me as greatly different from some other excellent Fuentes, such as the Don Carlos (which has the same filler as the Unnamed Reserve). If you can find the Unnamed Reserve at the regular retail price of around $10, it’s well worth lighting up.

Verdict = Buy.

–George E

photo credit: N/A

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Given that it’s the St. Patrick’s Day season (apparently it’s a whole season now since I attended a St. Patrick’s Day parade last weekend), I fired up this limited release from last year. More so than any other Candela I’ve smoked, the wrapper isn’t just green, but a bright, shiny, almost kelly green hue. The cigar features roasted flavors with coffee, toast, and black pepper spice. It’s a pleasant cigar even if the balance is hurt somewhat by the grassy notes of the green wrapper. Still, you could do far worse if you want to smoke a candela-wrapped cigar for the St. Patty’s season, or for any other reason.

Verdict = Hold.

–Patrick S

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

Since I examined the Double Robusto in God of Fire’s Serie B line—a cigar that earned a 4.5-stogie rating—I have been looking forward to trying the smaller Robusto size (5.25 x 50). In addition to being half an inch shorter and slightly thinner than the Double Robusto, the Robusto has an entirely different wrapper: a dark Ecuadorian sun-grown leaf. Compared with the Double Robusto, which boasts a Connecticut broadleaf maduro wrapper, it has a denser flavor of espresso, raisin, and cocoa that’s a little heavier on spice and a little lighter on sweetness. The overall profile is balanced, complex, powerful, and memorable, which is what you’d expect from a cigar with a $21 price tag.

Verdict = Buy.

–Patrick A

photo credit: Stogie Guys

Each Saturday and Sunday we’ll post a Quick Smoke: not quite a full review, just our brief verdict on a single cigar of “buy,” “hold,” or “sell.”

The Casa Fernandez Copacabana was introduced at the 2011 IPCPR Trade Show. The value-priced ($4) Nicaraguan puro has a Cuban-seed Corojo ’99 wrapper. The flavors are simplistic: wood, cardboard, and milk chocolate. It’s medium-bodied and well-constructed, but ultimately hardly a complex, sophisticated, or particularly interesting cigar.